Historical Dictionary of Prophets in Islam and Judaism

Abstract

As the compilers of this dictionary point out, Qur’anic and Islamic views of prophecy have been studied largely in isolation, despite the obvious connections between Islam and the Biblical tradition. Comparative studies have focused on what Islam has taken, or borrowed, from Biblical sources, often implying that this material has been manipulated for tendentious motives. The present dictionary works toward a less polemical comparative study of prophecy, investigating the complex relationships between Islamic, Biblical, and other Near Eastern views. The dictionary has been designed to examine shared traditions, promote interdisciplinary dialogue, and include a wide range of material not only from the Qur’an and the Bible, but also from extra-Biblical and extra-Qur’anic texts, without claiming to be comprehensive. Such texts include Rabbinic literature of many types; Christian pseudepigrapha, apocrypha, and commentaries; Qur’anic commentary (tafsir), histories, geographies, biographical dictionaries, stories of the prophets (qisas al-anbiya’), and theological discussions of prophetology (dala’il al-nubuwah). It also includes several extremely useful additions: a general introduction (pp. xxiii-xxxvii), a chronology (pp. xix-xxii), a brief history of prophecy in the Near East (pp. xxiii-xxxvii), a list of entries (Appendix I: pp. 357-64), a list of prophets (Appendix II: pp. 364-68), a bibliography, and an index. The bibliography, arranged by topic, is extensive and extremely useful for those interested in exploring the topic further (pp. 368-480) ...